Not applicable.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates in general to beverage pitchers, and in particular to a beverage pitcher having a water filtration reservoir which may be sealed for use as an ice hopper to cool the filtered water.
Numerous arrangements are known for providing a beverage pitcher with a water filter. These typically include providing a relatively standard pitcher with an internal reservoir. This reservoir includes an outlet at its lower end, and a filter element is located operatively prior to the outlet. As such the user may introduce water into the reservoir, and by gravity the water will flow through the filter element, exit the outlet, and fill the pitcher. The user may then remove the reservoir and filter element from the pitcher, but often it is simply retained in the pitcher for convenience.
Within the beverage pitcher art it is also known to provide a pitcher with a sealed ice hopper extending into the body of the for contact with the beverage. When filled with ice, this will cool the beverage without mixing the beverage with the water from the melting ice.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage pitcher which allows filtering of water.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a beverage pitcher which permits cooling of the beverage without dilution or contamination.
These and other objects are achieved by a filter pitcher with ice hopper. The pitcher body takes a standard form to hold a beverage for storage. Mounted within the pitcher body is a filter assembly including a reservoir section, an outlet, and a filter element located operatively prior to the outlet. Additionally, a water-tight sealing cap is provided to seal the outlet. With the sealing cap removed, the filter assembly operates as normal, filtering water from the reservoir section to the pitcher body. With the sealing cap blocking the outlet, the reservoir section may be used as an ice hopper to cool the filtered water without contamination. The filter element may also be removed if the sealing cap blocks the outlet to provide increased capacity for holding ice.